Rosters are just about set after a long and crazy road with NBA draft decisions and transfer portal additions. Let’s look at the top rosters and discuss the biggest question marks with each roster.
1- Kansas – Chemistry
The biggest issue with Kansas is going to be getting each new member of the team to gel. This is a first world issue as Kansas’ roster is absolutely loaded, but it still has to happen. AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Shakeel Moore (Mississippi State), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State), and Rylan Griffen (Alabama) are all coming in to play big minutes as transfers alongside top freshman Flory Bidunga.
There are a lot of new faces in the building, and they will have to work with Hunter Dickinson and company to create new chemistry.
2- North Carolina – Front Court Depth
North Carolina spent most of the offseason in search of a starting caliber center. After missing on players like Cliff Omoruyi, they finally land on Ven-Allen Lubin from Vanderbilt.
Lubin is a quality player and put up good numbers at Vandy, but that was for a losing program and on a bad team. UNC will also need Jae’Lynn Withers and Jalen Washington to take massive steps forward to be successful.
I am higher on UNC than most, but there is no doubt a massive question mark about their front court.
3- Alabama – Guard Depth
The biggest issue with Alabama is their guard depth, point guard depth, specifically. They have All-American Mark Sears leading their loaded starting lineup, but Nate Oats brought in Aden Holloway from in-state rival Auburn to be his backup.
Holloway shot just 32% from the field last year and 30% from three last season as a freshman. Needless to say, he needs to improve dramatically for Alabama to feel good about their depth at the point guard spot.
4- Gonzaga – Do they have elite talent?
Gonzaga’s roster is incredibly well rounded. They have just about their entire team, outside of Anton Watson, returning from a Sweet 16 team. However, I am not seeing the top tier talent that is necessary to win a national championship.
There are no Chet Holmgrens or Jalen Suggs’ on this roster. It will have to be a full team effort in Spokane.
5- UConn – Will depth take the next step?
UConn has been so good over the last two years in large part to their depth, but with the max exodus of elite talent like Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, that depth must take a massive step forward.
Hassan Diarra, Samson Johnson, and Solo Ball all played less than 20 minutes per game last year and none averaged more than 6.1 points per game. Now, they’ll be forced into much bigger roles and they must prove that they are capable of playing those roles to the UConn standard.
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6- Baylor – Too Small
To put it bluntly, Baylor’s very small. Their projected starting lineup is set to feature just one player taller than 6’5”. In fact, the entire roster only has two players above 6’7”.
I just don’t see how a team with these size concerns is good defensively in a conference like the Big 12. They’ll be elite offensively and Scott Drew is a good enough coach to manage it, but there are real concerns here.
7- Iowa St. – Offensive ceiling
Iowa State is returning most of their core from last year’s elite team. However, they were just 52nd in KenPom offensively.
They have the players to be great, and they will be one of the best defensive teams in the country, but I don’t see how they manage a deep tournament run if their offense doesn’t improve dramatically.
8- Houston – Replacing Jamal Shead
Houston was one of the best teams in the country last season. Had it not been for a tragic injury to Jamal Shead against Duke in the NCAA Tournament, they may have found themselves in the Final Four. Now, Shead is off to the NBA and Milos Uzan (Oklahoma) is in to replace him.
Uzan had a mediocre sophomore season in Norman as he shot under 40% from the field and under 30% from three. Uzan has some massive shoes to fill as Shead was not only one of the best point guards in the country, but he was one of the greatest leaders as well.
9- Duke – Too much youth
I have written an article on this site about my real concerns with Duke. They are too young to win on a large scale despite having Cooper Flagg in the fold.
Freshmen do not win national championships in college basketball anymore. It is just the reality of the situation. Now, Duke can still be an elite team and shock me and become the outlier here, but I am in wait and see mode with the Blue Devils.
10- Marquette – Replacing Tyler Kolek
Tyler Kolek did it all for Marquette and was one of the best point guards in the nation. He is gone and Marquette will have massive issues trying to replace him.
Sean Jones and Stevie Mitchell must be the ones to fill those shoes, but it could result in problems. Jones and Mitchell both shot worse than 27% from three and combined to average just 2.8 assists per game last season.
Marquette has their go-to scorer with Kam Jones returning, but they need someone to get him the ball in good spots to score. Kolek did that with ease.
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